Are you and every member of your team not only aware of their responsibilities regarding health and safety and food hygiene but actively employing a food safety management system, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) for example?

If you can’t attest to all staff and management on your premises being perfect – and who is? – You need to investigate health and safety training and food safety courses.

These are simple to arrange, cost effective and could save your restaurant from legal action or fines.

Maybe your restaurant hygiene ratings have hovered around 3/5 and so you don’t feel compelled to invest in training but the ramifications of even one case of food poisoning can wholly justify the outlay for educating staff and enforcing best practices.

People tend to have their own idiosyncrasies but within your restaurant they must be strictly managed.

Legislation and food hygiene ratings don’t have a caveat that allows excuses, extenuating circumstances or sob stories. The rules must be followed.

A food safety auditor arrives unannounced and checks the food preparation area, inspects the property and evaluates how critical controls and hazards are being managed.

They will issue a score based on their findings. A signed sticker is displayed on the premises showing the score awarded and results are available from the Food Standards Agency online.

1 – Major improvement needed

2 – Improvement needed

3 – Generally satisfactory

4 – Good

5 – Very good

In an ideal world every single food related establishment would have a score of 5/5 so if you are around a 3 then there is plenty of work to be done.

Established professional training companies like Food Alert offer health and safety training, food safety courses and HACCP training at every level of responsibility.

Here are some examples of courses which can help you achieve restaurant hygiene ratings that make for pleasant reading and reassure customers.

Food safety courses incorporate HACCP as an effective food safety management system.

This will have a positive impact on food inspectors because you’ll show that you are proactive about food safety, risks and controls.

This is an overview of an HACCP food safety course:

• Components of the HACCP food safety management system.
• Risk awareness.
• The purpose of the HACCP system.
• The benefits of HACCP.
• How to use HACCP in the workplace.
• The seven principles of HACCP.
• Establishing HACCP food hygiene management systems.
• Identifying HACCP procedures.
• Food hygiene. Assessing critical control areas.
• Types of contamination and their sources.
• Control methods to prevent contamination.
• How to reduce/eliminate risks using HACCP.
• Understand how HACCP procedures reduce risks.
• Tools for workplace safety and staff competency.
• Hazards recognition and critical control points.
• Corrective actions at all levels of employment.

Management and supervisor level courses can be taken and these are equivalent to A/AS level qualifications.

A happy-go-lucky approach isn’t sufficient to operate safely so please seek training.